pagesofhistory Military Enemy
George Washington led the Continental Army against the British during the American Revolution; today some British historians have deemed him Britain’s greatest military enemy.
P
resident George Washington might be one of America’s most beloved founding fathers, but it
seems he’s viewed much differently by military historians in the U.K. In fact, according to Britain’s National Army Museum, Washington is considered the greatest enemy commander ever to take on the British Empire. Although this might puzzle the typical
American, the designation is understand- able in a historical context: Washington led the Continental Army against the British during the American Revolution, a conflict historian Stephen Brumwell called “the worst defeat for the British Empire ever.” Washington’s designation was the re- sult of an online poll that drew more than 8,000 responses. Nominees were nar- rowed down to a short list of five — George Washington; Michael Collins, who led the fight for Irish independence; Napoleon Bonaparte; German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey — from which historians selected Washington. The most important criterion for nomi-
nation was that the opposing commander had to have personally led an army against British forces on the field of battle. This ruled out Adolf Hitler. Washington proved to be an exception- al military leader and strategist as he led the Continental Army against the much larger, more experienced British forces. Despite some demoralizing early defeats,
PHOTO: SEAN PAVONE/SHUTTERSTOCK
he successfully rallied his soldiers again and again, tirelessly pursuing the British until the war’s end. Washington’s success on the battlefield led to him becoming the first U.S. president, a position he held from 1789 to 1797.
T
Names Added to Vietnam Memorial he names of 10 American ser- vicemembers
have been added to the black granite walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memo- rial in Washington, D.C., and the status designation has been changed for 12 others already on the wall, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Four of the newly added veterans died within the past six years; it was de- termined their deaths were related to injuries sustained during their service in Vietnam. The others were added after a review of records confirmed their deaths occurred during missions within a defined combat zone. Status designation — a diamond for confirmed death and a cross for missing in action — on the wall changes when the remains of servicemembers previ- ously missing in action are returned or accounted for. MO
*online: Find the full list of Britain’s enemy commanders voted on in the poll at
http://bit.ly/zTsAlf. AUGUST 2012 MILITARY OFFICER 69
History Lesson On Aug. 21, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Hawaii to the Union as the 50th state.
At Union Square in New York City, a statue of George Washington on horseback hon- ors his leadership during the Amer- ican Revolution.
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